Friday October 6, 2006 arts.michigandaily.com artspage@michigandaily.com ARTS 5A I I --- - ------- - ----------- -- - 'Seed' can't findthe ground By Matt Emery Daily Arts Writer The Appleseed Cast just can't be complacent with the indie- rock genre. For almost a ** decade, the Kansans flew The under the Appleseed mainstream Cast rock radar, Peregrine injecting their Midwest The Militia Group emo-rock into the veins of angst-addicted teens jonesing for another hit. Though they've garnered ill-conceived comparisons to Radiohead from rock magazines and websites such as All Music Guide, and even gained blog superstardom this past summer after false rumors of lead singer Christopher Crisci's suicide - Appleseed still haven't managed to escape the unfortu- nate sales figures of indie rock. Now on their sixth full-length album, Peregrine, Appleseed decides it's time to make a mass exodus out of the indie-emo world and into the mainstream rock universe by stuffing generic alternative Clear-Channel music into their own quaint package. It's a clear sign that the band's aspira- tions don't lie in creating adven- turous music, but rather in trying to make mad scrilla by appealing to the TRL audience. Part of the intrigue of The App- leseed Cast has always been their way of readjusting their image and evolving their line-up - the band has been playing musical chairs, replacing drummers and bassists with every new release. Courtesy of Samantha Jet Music School junior Theo Katzman will bring the passion tonight at the Pig. NoMo, NO LESS PIG TO HOST SLEW OF LOCAL TALENT By Lloyd H. Cargo Daily Music Editor What do you call three great acts for the price of one? A fucking good deal, that's what. Tonight at The Blind Pig, for the first time on the same bill, three of the most compelling musical groups Nomo, in Ann Arbor will ratchet Toolbox up the heat and melt faces and Mark with increasing levels of Kirschen- smoking hot grooves. mann School of Music and RC Tonight at 8 p.m. professor Mark Kirschen- $8 mann will open up the affair $11 if under 21 with a display of his con- At the Blind Pig siderable trumpet chops. Kirschenmann is not your average Miles Davis wannabe - he's taken an entirely fresh approach to an instrument familiar to many by running his axe through a variety of pedals before it's fully electrified glory reaches the ears of listeners. His excellent This Electric Trumpet recently dropped on M-Block Records, and it's garnered critical acclaim for its above- the-middle-zone forays into experimental elec- tronic jazz. Following Kirschenmann will be another band traversing musical territory thus far unexplored: Toolbox. The group is comprised of a virtual who's who of stand out student musicians. At the core of the group is the rhythm section com- prised of hunky, mowhawked junior Aaron Gold on percussion and blond, gorgeous and often shirtless Christian Carpenter on bass. The two Music School juniors' propulsive hullabaloo is enhanced by the guitar/effects of the incredibly versatile and talented Music School senior Rob- ert Lester and the Derek Trucks meets Robbie Robertson six string stylings of lead guitarist and Music School junior Theo Katzman. Usually this musical menagerie is led by virtuosic pipist and tenor saxophonist Tyler Duncan, another Music School junior, but due to previous engagements he'll be replaced by perhaps the only musician capable of filling his enormous shoes - Music School junior Yosef Dosik. "First of all, I'm Toolbox's No. I fan. Second of all learning all of Tyler's parts has been an honor. Transcribing his beautiful pipe lines to the soprano saxophone has exposed his musical roots to me in a really dope, articulate and sexy way," Yosef said. The group is excited to have him on board as well. Katzman expressed his boundless joy, saying, "As always its one of my greatest pleasures to play with Yosef. What he's done is taken a poten- tial void and just filled it the fuck up and made it his own." Expect Toolbox's righteous refrains to get people moving and grooving before Ann Arbor's main musical export Nomo tears the walls down. No strangers to the Pig, Nomo is the surest bet in town to get everyone on the dance floor. It's almost impossible to over-hype Elliot Bergman's funk/jazz/afro/soul/machine, but coming off months of touring, the band is tighter than ever. Their latest, New Tones, was released on the ultra-hip Ubiquity Records to rave reviews (4 bunny ears in Playboy!) and every hometown performance to date has been nothing short of revelatory. All three of these artists on one bill make this a ridiculously easy way to get acquainted with some of the most important music being made by your peers, and the Pig is the perfect venue to soak up their respective beautiful noise. From the dense, atmospheric guitar patterns of The End of the Ring Wars to the more traditional electronic, emo-alternative of Two Conversations, Appleseed manage to nearly cover the com- plete spectrum of indie rock. Peregrine shows another shift in the band's style toward the familiar schtick of more popular bands like, say, The Killers. And if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then these guys are dishing out a ton of compliments. At least half of the tracks on Peregrine make a direct con- nection to some other popular music superstar. The beginning of "Here We Are (Family in the Hallways)" is a carbon copy of the prelude guitar chords to Death Cab for Cutie's "Title and Registration." A vocal style sto- len from Gavin Rossdale - pre Gwen Stefani - shines through on "Sunlit and Ascending" as well as "Mountain Halo." And although "Halo" floats along with dreamy, synthesizer-heavy bleeps that are tailored for the next Hummer commercial, it isn't an awful track - it just belongs on a Bush album from 10 years ago. Even a song like "Woodland Hunter, Part 2" has the band selling out to an adult contemporary market. Crisci's words aren't all that far off from Sting's recent efforts, even fur- thering the band from establish- ing their own sound. When Peregrine does take flight, it comes on the wings of creative instrumentation. "Silas' Knife" features an opening of electronic synth-buzz and clacks reminiscent of an infant's mobile, but is quickly met with haunting lyrics ("Keep hoarding all your, ghosts in fortresses") and a sor- rowful acoustic guitar interlude that flows into a Polish inspired, electro-accordion riff. The Appleseed Cast don't draw any clear line between a band attempting to create pre-pack- aged, shitty rock hits and a band, brushing against the void of their own musical identity. There's no progression past the mundane, TRL world on Peregrine, only misguided ambition. BE A PART OF THE MICHIGAN EXPERIENCE FOR THE UM-MSU FOOTBALL WEEKEND! These are the events yen de'Twan mt iss! FRIDAY, OCT. 6TH PEP RALLY 6-7pMElbel Fil Featuring Coach Carr, players, marching band and cheerleaders! Come Cheer the team on to victory over MSU. Sponsored by Alumni Association UMIX LATE NIGHT 10pm-2am Michigan Union Black Light Casino w/ poker and blackjack tables, prizes. SALSA dancing, and free make your own tack bar from 12am-l:30am SATURDAY, OCT. 7TH RAINBOW TAILGATE 14pm at lbellFil Free food, lawn games and a dance tent! This is a family friendly event and is part of National Coming Out Week sponsored by UM-GALAS. PULSE and the LGBI TCommission of MSA & A 4